Belmonte — The Town That Kept Judaism Alive in Secret for 500 Years

About This Activity

Belmonte is the only place in the world where crypto-Jews (conversos) maintained an unbroken secret Jewish practice from 1497 to the 1990s — nearly 500 years of hidden worship. The Museu Judaico de Belmonte documents this extraordinary survival. The community only came out publicly in the 1990s and built the new Bet Eliahu Synagogue (2006). The town also has a medieval castle and the birth house of Pedro Álvares Cabral (who "discovered" Brazil).

Seasonal note: Best spring and autumn; Belmonte is a 3 hr drive from Lisbon in the Serra da Estrela foothills. The Museu Judaico de Belmonte is open daily except public holidays.